Total knee arthroplasty involves preparing the bone of a distal femur and proximal tibia each to receive an implant prosthetic component. Presently accepted practice prefers maintenance of the natural patella as opposed to patella replacement.
It has been proven clinically that the anatomical patella, when not resurfaced, forms a soft tissue layer which distorts patellar tracking against the trochlear groove of a femoral prosthesis. Interoperatively, a practitioner retracts the patella and removes bone from the posterior of the patella resulting in a rounded shape. This reshaping of the anatomical patella allows it to move along the patellar track of the femoral component. However, this visual method of patellar bone removal usually leaves an uneven posterior surface and can results in subluxation of the patella.
The prior art is deficient in providing method and apparatus for profiling an anatomic patella to positively track the femoral component and thereby help to maintain positive ligament balance.